Star Wars to remain Christmas fixture

The release of a new Star Wars movie seems set to become as much part of the Christmas routine as Slade’s song or the Charlie Brown special.

Disney has moved the release of Rian Johnson’s Episode VIII from May 2017 to a December slot. Rogue One will be out this December, and it’s anticipated that the young Han Solo movie will follow in December 2018.

The fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales, will take Episode VIII’s May 2017 slot; the first Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man movie will take Pirates’ old spot, and now appear on July 7, 2017 rather than three weeks later.